Biodiversity in Fashion Fibre: Knit Design Development Liz Spencer MA Fashion & the Environment London College of Fashion Fall 2012 The aim of this dissertation is to educate wearers and designers to the importance of utilising and consuming fine animal fibres of various types and to highlight the unique characteristics and performances of each of the 9 fibres chosen through basic knitwear pieces and classic, non-complicated shapes so that the yarns themselves take center stage. This marks the documentation of my first knitwear collection.
fbre animal drawings by Laura Johnson
Fiber Budget A portion of my yarn budget source considerations and their costs after being edited down quite a bit while considering region, ethics, and claimed quality. Hickory Ridge Farm600 yards $112 (sport) white paco-vicuna ($.19/yd) Shokay.com164 yards $28 (bulky) yak Bijou Basin Ranch200 yards $27 (lace) yak 100 yards $27 (fingering) yak 150 yards $22.50 (light worsted) 50% Cormo/50% Yak 200 yards $22.50 (light worsted) 75% yak/25% merino 250 yards $35 (light worsted) 50% alpaca/50% yak 440 yards $49.95 (fine-sock) 85%yak/15% nylon ($.11/yd) School Products (call to inquire exact yardage per weight) 1145 yards $60 (worsted) 50%merino/50%yak ($.052/yd) 1156-1400 yards $72 (worsted) baby camel ($.051- $.062/yd) Colourmart 410 yards $20 (heavy dk weight) baby alpaca ($.049/yd) 820 yards $20 (fine fingering) baby alpaca ($.024/yd) 900 yards $18 (2/11nm) 30 alpaca/70 merino marron ($.02/yd) 3300 yards $25 (cobweb 2/40 nm) 100 baby alpaca ($.0076/yd) 740 yards $25 (2/9nm) 30% yak/10% silk/10%mohair/50%merino IndigoDragonFly 185 yards $15 75%yak/25%bamboo Lotus Yarns 328 yards $25 Tibeten Clouds (Worsted) yak ($.076/yd) 492 yards $10.78 (fingering) Tibetan Yak 2 328 yards $21.56 (light worsted) Tibetan Yak 3 164 yards $21.56 (worsted) Tibetan Yak 4 177 yards $9.46 (sport) baby camel 4 ($.053/yd) 88 yards $9.46 (worsted) baby camel 8 59 yards $9.46 (chunky) baby camel 12 177 yards $8.58 (sport) 75% yak/25% bamboo bamyak 147 yards $9.68 (worsted) 75%yak/25%camel caya The Rocking Yak 240 yards $38 (light worsted) yak down Yarn Market 218 yards $97.85 (lace) qiviut Windy Valley Musk Ox 218 yards $73 (lace) 50%qiviut/50% silk Nordic Mart (drops) 196 Yards $5.20 (fingering) alpaca (many colors!) The Alpaca Yarn Co 110 yards $8 (dk) alpaca 875 yards $30 (lace) suri alpaca 104 yards $8.95 (bulky) alpaca Buffalo Gold 200 Yards $60 (sport) bison (400yds (lace) $80) American Buffalo Products270 yards $48 (fingering) bison (120 yds (worsted) $48) (Rovings $20/oz.) Shirley’s Bison Yarn275 yards $40 (fingering) bison (170 yds (sport) $40) Amercio Original 251 Yards $28 (sport) baby llama Sugar River Handknits 255 yards $24 (sport) llama 220 yards $12.75 (fingering) llama
Fibre Sourcing Yarns have most arrived including acrylic sampling yarn. Some yarn is spun by hand myself but most is fine weight suitable for machine knitting.
Fibre Animals sketchbook, fine fibre producing animals and their main countries of origin
Design Inspiration sketchbook, knitwear garment inspiration
sketchbook, knitwear garment inspiration
Draping To create shapes effectively for knitwear, long lengths of fabric are knit on the machine at maximum width and then draped on the stand. Initial draping to play with shapes and silhouettes.
Sketches Design sketches are then produced based upon successful draping silhouettes and shapes.
Initial line-up of sketches, each garment focuses on one main fibre type and animal and some include 2 types of fibre.
Blocking All knit yardage and pattern pieces must be ‘blocked’, or meticulously pinned into shape and ironed/steamed to prevent curling of hems and keep bunching of ribbing to a minimum.
Samples: First Round
After designs have been decided, the first cut and sew toilles are created from lengths of the material knit on the machine. Edges must be serged or sewn to prevent unraveling of knit stitches.
Knit Instructions After first round of toilles are refined, fully fashioned knit machine instructions must be created and documented. Guage and tension swatches of acrylic and final fine fibre yarns are knit in order to calculate every row, and stitch precisely. Measurements must be done when knitted garments are not stretched and are lying flat.
Samples: Second Round A second round of fully fashioned toilles are now knit after any mistakes or miscalculations in the instructions have been amended. Final toilles are then fit on model.
Garments: Final Yarns After fit session, final changes can be made to the knit patterns and than applied to the machine instructions. The machine is not fully automated and is manually controlled by myself. Each stich and row is manually increased, or decreased in the fully fashion pattern pieces. Working with the fiine fibre yarns is quite different than with the acrylic, the differences in character are quite distinct. Each pattern piece of each garment must be painstakingly pinned and blocked multiple times, taking great care not to over steam or scorch any of the limited and expensive final yarn. The designs in this final stage change some depending on their drape and character when knit. Most is knit on the machine, save for the hat and cross back vest which are knit by hand. The wensleydale sheep yarn used for the hat has also been spun by myself on a drop spindle.
fThe Final line up of knit garment designs.
Exhibition The research and fibre samples procured for this dissertation were displayed at the Sustainable Angle’s Future Fabrics Expo at the London College of Fashion in November 2012.